


The Art of Sacrifice

by egosoffire



Category: Star Wars Sequel Trilogy
Genre: Bondage, Butt Plugs, Discipline, Edgeplay, Edging, Face Slapping, M/M, Non-Consensual, Non-Consensual Bondage, Punishment, Rape/Non-con - Freeform, Rape/Non-con Elements, Sexual Slavery, Slavery, Teasing, Vibrators, Whipping
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-04
Updated: 2018-05-06
Packaged: 2019-03-26 20:11:51
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 12
Words: 10,926
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13865154
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/egosoffire/pseuds/egosoffire
Summary: Poe Dameron gives himself over to Kylo Ren willingly, in order to buy some time for the Resistance's eventual success.





	1. It Is What It Is

**Author's Note:**

> This is not going to be an altogether pleasant work. There are going to be scenes of dubious consent and outright non-con. Consider this a warning, please. It's also unlikely to have a super-happy ending.

**It Is What It Is**

Poe dropped down to his knees. Kylo Ren watched with dark eyes, eyes that used to belong to the man that he loved. He stared up at his captor, hoping, even praying that this was the answer.

“Why are you here?” Ren asked, voice gruffy and angry. No doubt he thought that it was some kind of trick, a ruse to get to him. It was, but not in the way that he thought. “Commander Dameron, I am not about to believe that you walked right into our clutches. You’re not nearly that stupid.” 

“Maybe I took a couple of hits to the head too many,” Poe said, looking up. “Your people apprehended me. Now, I’m here, and I’m willing to make a deal.”

Ren laughed at that. 

“I do not negotiate with traitors,” he said, “and you, Commander, don’t have a thing to bargain with.” 

Poe looked up at him. He hoped that somehow, beneath the persona that he wore, that Kylo Ren had even a sliver of the man he’d once been inside. 

“I have me,” he said, voice trembling in spite of himself. “I know that you still desire me. I’m offering myself to you as a personal...personal slave.”

“In exchange for?”

Poe took a tiny bit of delight at seeing the red cross his captor’s face. At least, if this failed, he would have the satisfaction of knowing he had gotten under his enemy’s skin. “Dismiss the cavalry, and I’ll tell you what I want in exchange.”

Kylo’s eyes flickered to the masked figures flanking him on both sides, two of the legendary Knights of Ren. He then nodded and raised a hand. The pair left him, although Poe could nearly feel their disapproval. 

They were alone seconds later. Poe stayed on his knees. Kylo reached over and brushed the hair back from his face. The gloved hand on his cheek was gentle, surprisingly. 

“What do you want in return?” he asked.

Poe found it hard to speak with Ren’s hand on his face. He found his words, however, as strong as he could be. “You have no allegiance to The First Order,” he said. “Rey said that she could feel that in you, and I believe her. You have no allegiance to the past. But...the past still haunts you.”

“I do not care about the past!” Kylo’s words came out shakily, as if he did not truly believe himself. “I do not care about one aspect of my past. I am moving on, to a new future, a better future.” 

Poe laughed at that. He couldn’t help himself. It was obvious, from the way that the man looked at him, that Ben Solo would never truly die. Kylo Ren would never truly be able to kill his past. Yet, he had something from his past that would allow him to move towards the future. 

“You still desire me,” Poe whispered. “You still desire me as much as you did when we were teenagers, sneaking into my old ship for a little peace and quiet.” 

“What would you have me do?” Kylo asked, unable to deny the truth in what Poe was saying. Poe had to admit, it was really empowering, seeing just how flustered that Ren was. He was unable to deny anything. “Let’s say that I took your offer… What would you want from me?” 

Poe chuckled at that. “I want you to leave the Resistance be,” he said. “They’re small, inefficient. They will defeat the First Order in time, but you are not the First Order anymore.” 

“I’m not?” There was a hint of amusement in Ren’s eyes at the pilot’s bold declaration. “Please, do explain.”

Poe looked up at him with devious eyes, eyes that he had once found himself lost in. “I don’t think you have loyalty to anyone but yourself, Supreme Leader,” he said. “When the First Order is defeated, they will come to an end, but you will thrive. All I ask for is that you leave my people be.”

“And you’ll be mine?”

The pilot chuckled, a low, sad sounding laugh. “You’ve always had me, you know?” he said mournfully. “My word is good, and I swear it by my loyalty to your mother.”

There was a moment of pause, and both men seemed to swallow those words. Poe’s loyalty to the Resistance was one thing, but his loyalty to his general was another. Both knew that those words were his bond.

“You have a deal, Commander.”

Poe was taken by two guards. The men dragged him by the arms to a cell, shoving him inside and closing the doors behind him. The inside of the cell was pitch black, but by wandering the perimeter and feeling around, he managed to find an open cot at the corner of the room. 

He sat. 

He wondered then, briefly, if he was making the right choice. It had come to him in a dream, honestly. If he gave himself over to Kylo Ren, then there was a chance that Kylo Ren could be saved. He was not as naive as Rey -- he did not truly believe that he could ever recapture the man he had once loved. Yet, he did believe that there was hope for everyone.

If he pulled Ren off of the Resistance, at least for a little while, there would be time for them to recoup and to fight. 

Whatever happened to him happened.

It felt like he waited a lifetime for the man to come to him. Well, he supposed, being the leader of an evil dictatorship took a lot of time and effort. He thought he was going to go crazy waiting when the man opened the door.

“Tell me why.”

Those three words were meant to be strong, confident, but Poe could hear the tremble in them. The Supreme Leader was afraid in every single way.

“Why what?” he asked, rising.

“Why are you doing this?” Kylo asked. “Is this some sort of trick, a deception meant to turn the tide towards your cause?”

“It might turn the tide,” Poe considered, nothing if not honest, “but it’s no trick,  _ Kylo _ .”

The name was spoken with a mocking venom that Poe could not rid himself of, even though he was supposed to be a docile, submissive creature now. He hated the man he used to love for who he had become. 

“No?”

“You miss me,” Poe said, hoping the images that had sprung to his mind were real, and not some product of an overactive imagination. “Part of you still longs for me, even as you try to kill every part of you that’s my Ben.” 

“I desire you still, yes.”

“Then you’ll take my deal?”

In response to his question, Poe was forcefully raised up from a seated position. He was pressed to the wall. Ren looked at him with dark, hateful eyes. 

“I’ll take your deal,” he said, misery in his voice. He then manipulated the Force yet again. “Kneel.”

Poe was brought to his knees. He knew that he had signed up for this, but the feeling of the cold ground beneath him was a reality check, even for him. 

“Yes, sir.” 

The bitterness in his voice was icy, but he’d done what he’d set out to do. 


	2. Chapter 2

******Broken Inside**

“Take them off.”

Poe looked up and sighed, unable to believe that this was really happening. He had made a choice, but still it felt like an impossible dream. A feeling of dread sat in his stomach, and yet he was forced to ignore it. He had to do this. 

He stripped off his worn flight suit and then his clothing. Each layer came off a bit slower, as he realized the inevitable. He stood for a long moment in his underclothes.

The Supreme Leader of the First Order gave him a hard look. Those came off as well.

There he was, naked in front of a man he had once hated and yet still loved all the same. He could feel the other’s dark eyes burning a hole into him. His heart skipped a few beats and he swallowed, forcing himself to look upwards.

“You look the same…”

“A few more scars,” Poe murmured, looking down again, this time taking in his own nudity, “but I guess that overall I haven’t done so badly for myself.”

“Go to the bed.”

Poe glanced over at the left corner of the room. There was a small bed, with four long, sleek chrome posts. He walked over to the bed. 

“On your stomach.” 

Poe got up onto the bed, lying flat on his stomach. The material was soft, cool under his flushed skin. He pressed his face against the mattress, hoping that it would allow himself to center, to keep calm. 

He felt Kylo behind him, leaning over and then he tensed. Long fingers wrapped around both of his wrists and pulled them, a bit roughly behind his back. He was bound that way, wrists connected at the lowest point of his back, elbows stretched tight. 

A hand ghosted over the curve of his backside. It unnerved him, more than anything, that the man did not speak. 

Lips pressed up against his neck, and he could feel Kylo breathing him in. A faint murmur of approval and fingers ran through Poe’s hair. 

“You are still so beautiful, commander,” Ren purred against his skin. “I missed being able to touch you.”

Poe bit back his retort and buried his face in the bedding. 

“Did you miss this?”

He did not reply, and a flat hand slapped down on his thigh, hard. “I believe I asked you a question.” Another hard smack, this one to the left side of his ass got him wriggling away and finally, speaking.

“I miss it every day.”

The soft sound behind him was somewhat satisfied. “Knees,” Kylo ordered, and Poe raised himself up on his hands and knees.

Poe wanted to turn around and look, to see what the other man was doing, but he found it easier to just close his eyes, get lost. There was a time when he wanted nothing more than to be in Ben’s arms again. They had only made love a few times, and it had never seemed like enough. He wanted Ben so much, but when he felt a steady hand on his thigh and the first intrusion of something inside of him, he almost sobbed. 

Ben was as good with his fingers as he had been back then. He had this way about him that was cautious, to the point and thorough. Poe almost didn’t resist, until he realized that this wasn’t his Ben, and his body almost involuntarily clenched around the finger inside of him. 

Kylo hit him again, a tap compared to the last two blows, but enough to send him teetering on his knees. “Be good,” the man drawled, and Poe could  _ hear  _ the smile on his face.

He finally managed to look behind him when he felt the other man’s fingers withdraw from him. Ben was half undressed, robes strewn on the floor behind him. He was still wearing pants, but they were unbuttoned at the top. 

His former lover saw him glance back and used a grip on his hair to force his face back down into the mattress. Poe closed his eyes and braced himself for what was inevitably coming.

The first intrusion wasn’t as painful as it could have been. It was obvious that Ben had spent some time preparing him, making sure that he could take it. Poe could not remember the last time that someone had fucked him. It had been a long time ago now, even if it wasn’t as distant of a memory as Ben was. He whined under his breath and squeezed the bedding harder. 

“You used to make more sound.” 

A hand tangled in his hair, the man on top of him started to move. “Stars, yes, missed this…” Ren raved as he picked up a steady rhythm, thrusting in and out of Poe like he was made of nothing. Poe could feel his confidence grow, as he started to use a bruising force. His hips slammed into Poe hard and Poe closed his eyes, waiting for the moment that his captor would finish and leave him be. Poe had to remind himself that he had asked for this.

Thankfully, the Supreme Leader soon had his fill, coming to completion with a violent thrust. He squeezed Poe’s shoulder, yanking him back as he came. Poe had been trying so hard not to make a sound, but that feeling of being filled up made him cry out, a sound that betrayed him. 

“Good boy.” 

Kylo pulled out of his spent body and pat him on the back of the head. 

“Go ahead and clean up. There’s a shower in the next room. Then return to me to be dressed.” 


	3. Chapter 3

“Knees.” 

Poe dropped down to his knees in front of Ben - no, not Ben. Why did his mind keep insisting that the man in front of him was Ben? 

“I have decided,” Ren said, “that I am keeping you as my personal pet.” 

Poe did not respond. What sort of response would even be expected of him?  Instead, he stared straight at the man in front of him, waiting for further instruction. 

None came. Kylo lunged forward in his seat and slapped Poe, a backhand to the face. Poe fell backwards, teetering on his knees before he finally found his balance again and steadied back down. 

“I want you to know that this is not going to be something you can escape. There is no positive end to this for you.”

Poe looked down.

“Yes, sir.” 

“But…” Kylo paused for a moment and Poe could see him considering each word. He could see the choices behind made behind the eyes that had once belonged to his Ben. “I can make you happy. I can make you forget the life that you once lived, and give you satisfaction in your new life.”

Poe almost laughed at that, but decided that he could not take whatever rage it would bring out in the man before him. Instead, he bit his lip. He clenched it between his teeth so hard that he nearly bled. He could say absolutely nothing.

Kylo’s finger brushed along his bottom lip. Poe had to resist the urge to bite it. “You will figure it out soon. Pleasing me will in turn inspire me to please you.” 

The man then ran his fingers through Poe’s hair. It reminded Poe of nights spent together, Ben playing with his curls with a nervous smile on his face. What had happened to that man? Poe had loved him so very much. How could he really be gone? 

Kylo then rose and returned from the opposite end of the room with a black box. Poe did not want to look up at him, but he had to -- the urge was far too overwhelming. The man then unlatched the box and opened it up. Inside was a long, thin black strip of material. 

Poe’s stomach clenched. A collar.

It was latched around his throat, a surprisingly soft material. Poe looked down, heat rising on his face. 

“It looks nice on you.”

The man then grabbed him by the collar and yanked him forward and into a kiss. Poe found himself caught off guard, mouth split open by a desperate, probing tongue.

The kiss made him feel like his entire soul was made of the bile in his throat. Ben kissed him like he wanted to own him with every part of his soul. It was obvious that he would get everything that he ever wanted and the joy in him was primal.

He could not help the way that his body responded to the kiss. He leaned in to the other man and let him, opening up to the tongue in his mouth. He went limp, almost as though he was a different man, the younger man who had felt so much hope. That hope had died a long time ago. 

The man pulled back and looked him over for a second. He then went into a cabinet and came back with a bottle. He put it into Poe’s hand. Poe instinctively took hold of it, realizing what it was. It was a bottle of lubricant.

“Go ahead and prepare yourself for me. I’ll be back for you shortly.” 

With those cold words, Kylo was gone.

Poe looked at the bottle and opened the cap. He had done this so many times, but the act itself had never seemed quite so humiliating. He took a deep breath.

Poe carefully opened up the lube and spread some over his fingers, spreading his legs. The act itself wasn’t difficult and only took a few moments, but the probing of his own fingers was enough to bring heat into his face. It felt so wrong, so sickening.

Kylo returned to him not long afterwards. He wore a cold, confident expression. “Everything is done?” he asked.

“Yes.” 

He was slammed up against the wall by the Force. His head hit the wall with a sick smash.

“Yes, what?”

“Yes, sir.”

A twist of Ren’s hand and Poe was lifted up, feet just scraping against the stone floor beneath him. Then he was let back down, the pressure on his throat making his eyes blur. 

The bigger man lifted him up and put him in the chair he had occupied earlier. He then spread Poe’s legs with wrenching force, examining his glistening entrance with wide, lust filled eyes.

“You did well.”

Kylo lifted his hips and dragged him to the end of the chair, legs hanging off. He then undid his pants and took himself out.

Poe couldn’t help look at the man’s thick cock for a moment. He had seen it before, of course, so long ago, but it was interesting to see the contrast between the cool, collected look on Kylo’s face and the flushed skin below the waist. 

The initial thrust was painful, in spite of the thorough prep that he had done. It was obvious that the man fucking him wanted to hurt him. His fingers dug into his hips, squeezing tightly. Poe grunted with the pain, but tried his best to make as little sound as possible.

Ben continued to thrust into him like a madman. No, Poe objected with every bit of his being. This was not Ben. He could not let this be Ben, the boy who had once made him so happy. Ben erratically thrust in and out of him like he was trying not only to reach orgasm, but to break them both.

When he finally came, it was a beautiful relief. Poe was left a sobbing mess on the floor. 


	4. Chapter 4

Poe had told himself that he was not going to fight back. This was a sacrifice that he had made in order to buy the Resistance time, keep them safe, and maybe someday bring Ben back to something resembling light. Yet, the urge to fight back overwhelmed one night and he resisted the Supreme Leader’s attempts.

“Sounds like he needs a punishment or two,” one of Ren’s officers commented. It was an idle, teasing comment, but Poe could read the intention behind it. The officer did not like his new leader and was quietly making fun. 

The seed had been planted and Poe was left alone in his humble quarters. He knew that he was in for it, but he could not bring himself to care. When Kylo returned to him, he came with a whip in hand.

“Against the wall.” 

Poe stared him down hard, determined not to let fear find its way into his eyes. He sauntered across the room, naked except for the collar around his throat.

“Hands against the wall.” 

Poe reached up, pressing his flat hands against the cool tile. His stomach lurched and he was afraid, but he was not about to let the bastard behind him know a thing. He heard the steps behind him, but refused to look at Kylo Ren. 

“You embarrassed me.” 

Poe almost snorted with laughter, in spite of the fear he felt. Instead, however, he just closed his eyes and bit his lip to still the laughter. Kylo Ren, for all of his bold claims, was a child. 

“I apologize,” he said cooly, closing his eyes. As scared as he had felt moments before, a kind of airy calm washed over him. He was here, whether he wanted to be or not, and it was a choice that he had made for himself. “I didn’t mean to embarrass his Supreme-ness.” 

“You are mine. You need to be taught your new place, as you seem to have not accepted it.” 

“Go on and get on with it.” 

Poe braced himself against the wall as he felt the anger surge through the other man’s body and soul both. It was easy to understand what Ben was feeling, as much as he tried to block it off, to act like he was this incredible force of darkness. 

The single-tailed whip crashed down between his shoulder blades, turning the rage inside Ren into pain. The sting was sharp and he nearly lost his grip on the wall. He thought to flip around and defend himself, but no sooner did that thought cross his mind then did Ben act. He was pinned to the wall by sheer will.

The blows came steadily, with a moment in between them. Kylo used the full force of his arm and soon Poe felt the skin break. He felt the blood and there was no amount of training that could make him block out that much pain.

Kylo beat him for awhile, until his vision swam in and out. He then left him on the floor.

When Poe woke up, it was to the buzz of a medical droid as it applied a thick patch over his broken back. “Thank you…” he murmured without thinking.

The droid made a sound that indicated, at least to him, that it was surprised.

“You’re thanking me,” it said in a tinny voice that made Poe laugh. Yeah, he was probably a bit delirious. 

“Course I am, buddy,” Poe chuckled. A pain hit him in his chest, and he thought about BB-8. He had made sure that his buddy was in Finn and Rey’s capable hands before he left, but he missed him. “You’re patching me up.” 

“It is my purpose, sir,” the droid said in an uncomfortable, tinny tone of voice. “I was told by Supreme Leader Ren to tend to your wounds. You are useful to him.” 

Poe laughed at that, unable to catch himself. The word was bitter on his tongue. “Useful.” Yes, he supposed he was useful to the Supreme Leader.

The droid dismissed itself once his back had been properly patched up. Poe laid on his stomach, trying to let the healing take place. Fuck. He hurt, he was tired and he was just...scared. Honestly, this had seemed like the right thing at the time. Now, he had no idea what he had chosen.

  
  



	5. Chapter 5

Poe had always relied on his eyes. He was a pilot, practically from birth, and what he saw meant everything to him. So, when the Supreme Leader decided to blindfold his new little pet, Poe was a bit panicked. 

“What’s wrong?” Kylo asked, as he walked around Poe, examining him. Poe could feel the burn of those eyes on him, even with the blindfold on. “Your heartbeat is racing…”

“I don’t like losing my eyes,” Poe replied, evenly, even though he knew his skin was flushing bright red all over.”You knew that about me, once.”

Kylo chuckled at his words.

“Oh yes, that is true,” he said. “Put your hands up, on your head.”

Poe did what he was told, not wanting to face the wrath of the man he had once loved.He wanted to flinch, wanted to run, but he had been trained to be brave, to wear a stoic face no matter what was going to happen to him. He took a heavy breath of air. 

With little warning, Ren pushed him against the wall, gloved hand shoving down his body and groping at his cock, stroking and pulling him. 

“What…”

“Shut up.”

With a few sharp twists of the other man’s hand, Poe could feel himself stiffening, much to his distaste. He did not want to show that he felt arousal. He did not want to feel aroused when it came to Ben, the man he had once given his world to. Yet, he did and he would, again and again.

Ben got him fully hard and then led him along. Poe’s face flushed as the other guided him with nothing more than a hand on his wrist. He didn’t know where he was or who was watching. He didn’t hear others but who was to say he wasn’t being paraded naked across the base? 

Soon, they stopped. “Go lie on the bed behind you.” 

Poe knew that he was helpless to do anything but obey. He headed backwards until his legs hit something soft. He crawled onto the bed and laid back. 

The hands on his body were soft, almost adoring. If he tried his best to stay calm and ignore the blindness, Poe could almost imagine that he was here with the old Ben, with someone he loved and wanted with all of him. He could pretend that things were fine. 

The gloves came off and the skin on skin contact was almost too pleasurable. Poe couldn’t help the sounds he made, tiny gasps of pleasure that were meant for his ex-boyfriend, not his captor and owner. 

“You make such wonderful sounds.” 

The kiss caught him off guard and he yelped, but kissed back out of instinct.

“I don’t think I’ll ever stop feeling this way,” Ren admitted, his words so quiet that Poe barely heard him. For a moment, Poe hoped. Maybe the man above him could be redeemed.

“Supreme Leader, we’re under attack!”

Poe was left there, naked and aroused, confused and wearing a blindfold. Luckily, one of the officers took pity on him and took off the blindfold a moment or so later. “What’s going on?” he asked a Stormtrooper that had been ordered, evidently, to guard him. 

The trooper, of course, ignored him.

“If they’re under attack, then they’re not going to care what happens to you,” Poe said, his words cold, but true. All of his years under Leia and he knew. As much heart as the members of the Resistance had, they could not feel for the nameless, faceless Stormtroopers. It brought about too much pain. So, if Rebel fighters came in, they would as soon kill this man as anything…

There was a pause and Poe sighed a bit. 

“Go on, kid.” 

Poe found some clothing, and dressed himself. If he was going to die, then he vowed not to die naked. He pulled the clothes over his aching body and then headed down a hall.

He thought he might run into a rebel rescuer, but instead he was gripped around the throat by General Hux. The red haired general stared him down like he was scum, the lowest dirt that he had ever had the misfortune to look upon 

"Going somewhere?" he asked. "And you took off your pretty little blindfold?"

Poe struggled in his grasp. He knew that he had to be a dozen times stronger than the thin, insubstantial general, but he could not find that strength. The time spent with Kylo Ren had sapped him of it. 

Then, Kylo Ren appeared. The Supreme Leader marched down the corridor and with a flinging of his right arm, sent Hux spiraling into the wall. Hux hit his head, hard.

"Did he hurt you?" Ren asked. 

"No," Poe admitted. Hux had only startled him, really. 

"Good," Ren said. "We'll leave him here for the rebel scum to find. It serves him right."

It was all a blur. Ren got them a ship and ushered Poe inside. He then tied him up. The fact that he bound the pilot's wrists was somewhat amusing to Poe. 

"Don't trust me?" he asked with a laugh.

“What do you think?”

That made Poe laugh, in spite of himself. How could he do anything but laugh at the absurd situation that he had found himself in. “You know I’m a better pilot than you are,” he said, as they made the jump into hyperspace. “You may just need me after all, Kylo Ren.”

“I don’t need anyone.” 

“It’s like I said,” Poe said, after they had been flying for quite some time.

“What?” Ren snapped. 

“The First Order is going to fall, and your first instinct upon a major battle is to run. You had absolutely no loyalty to them.”

The force of Ben’s powers hit him like a wave, and Poe’s head was driven forward into the console. He took the abuse, wishing that he could rub at his forehead to relieve the sudden ache it caused. 

“Comm on line one is picking up a signal,” Poe said, wishing more than anything that his hands were free, that he could do something, anything.

Kylo ignored him at first, but eventually patched them in to the signal.

“Ren got out…” yelled a voice that Poe did not recognize.

“We took out the base.” He knew that voice. Jess Pava. They had his squad on this rescue. Poe’s heart ached at that, missing his friends more than he could express.

“I can feel your pain, you know,” Kylo snapped, as though the fact was revolting to him. Poe was surprised that his former lover didn’t gag or something equally dramatic. “They have come to destroy the First Order base, not to rescue you.”

“I gave explicit instructions that I was not to be rescued,” Poe said, his words dark. He practically spat them at the man in front of him. “I made a choice. That doesn’t mean I can’t miss them, Ben.”

Evidently, the Supreme Leader wasn’t too fond of the use of his old name, because Poe could feel his airways constricting at that. “Sorry…” he gasped, feeling his vision start to waver.

Without a word, Ben let go. 

They hit hyperspace and once they were sure they were free of the wreckage of battle, they began to merely drift. It was a pretty great metaphor, Poe thought, for his current situation. 

Once they were certain no harm would come, big bad Kylo Ren needed to assert his dominance once more.

“Take off those ridiculous clothes,” he growled, breaking Poe’s bonds.

Poe laughed, without meaning to. “What am I to wear then, sir?” he asked, the title coming out of him with malice. 

“Nothing.”


	6. Chapter 6

Poe gaped at that. They were alone in empty space, but they wouldn’t be for long. Kylo Ren had defected from the First Order, and Hux would never let him live. The Resistance would also struggle to fight their enemy.    

“If they find you naked on my ship, they will simply see what is mine before I kill them. Now strip.”

Poe knew what Ben was capable of, so he did what he was told. 

He stood in the middle of the ship naked. 

“Knees, come here.”

So Poe crawled up to the Supreme Leader on his hands and knees. 

Kylo undid his trousers and the intention was clear, although it wasn’t about sex. Poe knew that much. Poe looked up, met his eyes and then did exactly what the Supreme Leader wanted. He shifted them down enough to take the man’s length out.

He had always liked doing this for the three boyfriends he’d had in his life. There was something about it that was enticing, putting all of your focus into pleasuring them. 

This case was different, yet the same. Poe had been on his knees for Ben before. He leaned down and took the head of Ben’s cock into his mouth, hands braced on his master’s thick thigh. 

Ben groaned, a low, desperate sound from deep in his chest. Poe moved up and down on his length, pretending that he was doing this for a beloved boyfriend and not a captor. 

He licked along the length, then went back to bobbing up and down obscenely. Ben, he could tell, enjoyed it, even though he wasn't vocal about the whole thing. Instead, he just fisted a hand in Poe’s hair and pulled, hard, with a grunt. The shock of pain almost stopped him for a second, but not a beat did he miss. 

He could tell that Kylo was close to coming, and almost pulled off with the sudden awareness of where he was, but he stopped himself. He continued to do what he was doing until the Supreme Leader peaked loudly, squeezing the fist that was in his hair. Poe yelped, but swallowed and then pulled off, glaring, hard. 

“Go make yourself useful on the other side of the ship,” Ren gasped out. 

Poe was more than willing to do just that. He grunted and headed off to the back of the ship, not sure what he could do, but hoping to be quiet, both inside his mind and out of it.

It was some time before anything at all happened. Poe found an old blanket in one of the supply cabinets and wrapped it around his body, He then curled up in a corner and tried to allow himself some time to relax. It did not last long.

The man who owned him joined him, watching him for a long moment.

“What do you want?” Poe asked. 

Ben, in reply, backhanded him across the face. 

The slap stung, but Poe tried to school his face into as much of a passive stare as he could.

“Do not speak to me in such a way, and expect it to be okay,” Ren ordered, his words clear. “You agreed to be mine, and now you’re mine.”

Poe sighed and didn’t say anything for a moment. Finally, he laughed. “Yours...good and legal,” he said softly. “I get it, I get it.”


	7. Chapter 7

For the next three days, Ren did not leave him alone. They floated through space, trying not to waste fuel, and during that boring period of idle floating, Poe was pretty sure he’d break from all of the times that his body was used. He had become an outlet for frustration, rage and lust. 

Ren shoved him up against the console of the ship, Poe’s legs wrapped around his waist. Poe closed his eyes and let it happen, body being bashed against the console again and again. He accepted it, and he had to admit that he was starting to like it.

“Fuck...please…” he whispered.

A smirk crossed Ben’s face that reminded Poe so much of who he had once been. It was a beautiful smile, even if it wasn’t the genuine, happy one that he had always hoped for. 

“Did you want something?” he asked Poe with a laugh.

“Touch me, please…” Poe whispered. He didn’t want to be the one who begged, the one who asked anything of the man who owned him, but all he wanted was a hand on him, something aside from the pounding inside of him.

“As you wish,” Ben chuckled, and started to stroke Poe’s cock in time with the thrusts of his hips. “Always, as you wish.”

It wasn’t the first time that he had come with his captor, at all, but Poe was surprised by the suddenness and force of his orgasm. His whole body tensed up and then released and it was all over. He gasped, desperately. It had never been so fast before, or so intense.

“Please, please, please.”

That night, he barely slept. He wasn’t sure what was happening to his brain, and it was scaring the shit out of him.

They landed on a small planet a day later. It was a mining planet and populated only by a few groups, little families. They were able to get a small dwelling outside of the main town and there was relative privacy.

“We’re safe here, for now,” Kylo said, looking at Poe, who was naked on the floor with a blanket draped over his shoulders. “You should get some sleep.”

“I’m not tired,” Poe said softly.

Ben gestured towards the bed.

Afraid of an outburst, Poe quietly made his way over to the bed. He laid back upon it, feeling just how tired he was. The softness of the mattress almost led to an ache in his bones. He was just that exhausted, that tired of everything.

Ben laid beside him, as there was only one bed in the place.

Before he knew it, Poe was asleep. He had fallen into oblivion, even though he was not tired, and was only awakened by the sound of Ben’s screams.

Ben screamed like a man being tortured. Poe jumped to a seated position, only to find that nobody was murdering, or torturing the man beside him. Ben was asleep and in the throes of a nightmare. 

“Ben! Wake up!”

Poe shook him by the shoulder, moving to get out of the bed, only to find that Ben had wrapped a hand firmly around his wrist and was holding tightly to him. Poe yanked the arm that the man had such a tight hold on, and that was enough to wake him up.

“Please,” Kylo whimpered, as he shot up. “I can’t take anymore. Please don’t.”

“It’s okay,” Poe said, as he tried to shake the man awake. “You were just dreaming…”

The man yanked away from him and immediately got out of the bed. Poe didn’t know what to take of it. He was obviously upset and Poe didn’t want to take the brunt of that anger, so he kept his distance while he watched Ben’s face contort in pain, and then recover. He tried his best to get hold of himself. 

“It was nothing,” the man said dismissively. He got up and then checked their surroundings. “Have you heard any noises so far?”

“No,” Poe said softly. “I haven’t heard a thing except your screaming…”

"We will not speak of this." 

"Fine," Poe said softly. "What's on the to-do list for today?" 

Kylo took his words as an insult, evidently, because he glared. "Well, perhaps we should get food, so that we don't end up starving," he snapped. "Would that be a good idea?" 


	8. Chapter 8

It became very easy for Poe, just living his life. Yes, at times Kylo snapped, was abusive, hurt him, but for the most part it was just living and sex. Living and sex never harmed anyone. It drove him to a sort of calmness. 

They traveled into the town once in awhile, in order to get supplies and information. The planet was barely a planet, and had little life whatsoever, but news still traveled. Kylo, even if he didn't think Poe knew it, still listened to the broadcast. The First Order was going down and the galaxy was in chaos. It told Poe many things, but the most important was that the Resistance had no time for a missing pilot.

Ben continued to have nightmares. They plagued him and left him screaming at night for his father, his mother, and surprisingly, for Rey. The girl had told Poe about their connection once, but he had never realized it would have such a profound effect on him.

"Why do you scream at night?" Poe asked, with an innocence that he had to admit was feigned, but had a purpose. He knew the things that Ben must see at night, but he wondered what he would say. "Are you that miserable?"

Ben looked at him and the wrath in his eyes was overwhelming, but Poe was pretty sure the agony was worse. "I have nightmares," he said immediately, giving Poe a look that said he had no plans of elaborating or telling his captive another word. Yet, he continued anyway. "It's just nightmares..."

"Do you see your father?" Poe knew, that by asking that question, he was risking Ben killing him, but he needed to break the walls down. "Your mother?"

Sometimes taking a gamble worked in a man's favor, and Ben did not even strike him. He instead nodded, faintly.

"I see him almost every night," he admitted, a surprisingly candid admission from a man to the pet he owned. "I watch him fall again and again, and know that I could have made a different choice."

Poe found that admission to be striking. "If you could choose differently," he murmured, "would you?"

Ben didn't speak for a long time. Poe wouldn't have been surprised if his long lost love couldn't answer that question. Yet, after moments that drew into one another, he spoke.

"Yes."

"You could change things, you know," Poe said softly, even though he honestly knew the truth. Kylo Ren was in his bed, and not Ben Solo. He wasn't sure that Ben even existed anymore. "You could make a difference and let go of the past, this persona. You have already let go of the First Order."

"I am still not the boy you knew."

Poe nodded at those words, as he knew they were harder for him to accept than they were for Kylo. He would never be Ben Solo and there was nothing his poor slave could do about it.

"I still love you."

The quiet admission from Poe seemed to affect the other man. He looked over and nodded, slowly. "I still love you as well," he said.

"I thought you were incapable of loving."

"I often wished I was," Kylo responded, his words dark. "I often wished that I was incapable of loving, but it turns out that I am not."

"Well, we need a plan for what comes next, Ben." 

"I think I just want to touch you right now."

"Okay..." Poe whispered, giving his consent. At least, he could delude himself into thinking he had a choice. “Touch me, then…”

Ben pressed a hand to Poe's throat and pressed him backwards. He then claimed his lips in a kiss. The kiss was hot, demanding and it made Poe feel a little bit light headed. His vision swam and he stared into Ben's beautiful eyes for a moment. Then, he pressed himself back into the kiss, forcing Ben to give him more. It felt like his whole being -- body, soul, head, heart -- were all at war, waging a battle that he could not control. It was something that he had absolutely no power over and it hurt. It scared him. 

Ben got on top of him, straddling his hips with strong thighs. He leaned down and claimed Poe's mouth for his own, kissing him over and over again, tongue delving between his lips.

Poe gave in to it. All of his conflict, all of his negative emotions and fear and longing for freedom just melted away. All he wanted was to please Ben, to make Ben realize just how much they needed each other. He kissed back, pressing his hips up against the firm body holding him down.

Ben once again laid a hand on his throat, not squeezing or choking him, but laying a bit of warm pressure there. "I find that I want you every second that you're near," he told Poe, a desperate tone in his voice. "I can't help what you do to me."

"I'm just that special," Poe whispered, as his lips were claimed again.

They spent a long time like that, kissing idly while grinding their hips up against each other. Poe was the naked one, so it was definitely effecting him, the heat rising up in his chest and arousal flooding his bones. Finally, Ben graced him by taking off his shirt.

Ben pulled off of Poe to take the shirt off, and in that moment Poe was able to look at his wounds. Ben had many deep scars that littered his torso, chest, and when Ben got up to discard his pants as well, Poe could see his back. They were training injuries, mostly, but some seemed more deliberate, purposeful. Someone had done their best to break him.

His body was as broken as his soul.

When Ben returned, Poe brushed his finger down the scar that Rey had left on the man's face. Poe knew that even with every horrible thing that Ben had done to him, that he would always love him.

The sex was good, as it always was but the desperation was enough to leave him breathless. Ben pounded into him like he was going to die the next moment, his eyes wide and boring holes into Poe's skull.

He wasn’t sure that he could live like this much longer.

 


	9. Chapter 9

The object was thick, flared at the edge and made of a solid dark material. 

“Where in the stars did you get that?” Poe asked. He had learned, in the three months he and Ben had been living on the isolated planet, not to be surprised by anything. “This is a tiny little mining planet...and…”

“A trader saw your collar,” Ben said, with a bit of the playfulness that took Poe back a decade. “He asked me if I owned you, and I said yes. He told me to keep it quiet, since slavery is illegal in these parts, but sold me this…”

“What is it?” Poe asked softly.

“We shall see, won’t we?”

Ben made a gesture, and following it, Poe made his way over to the bed. He got up on his hands and knees, head pressed against the mattress. He wondered what Ben was up to, but it wasn’t really worth his energy to wonder. 

It took no time at all for Ben to lube up the object and slide it into him. Poe forced his body to relax and just take it, and the thing slipped inside until it reached a snug point.

“What was the point of sticking something in my…”

Poe’s voice failed him as the thing turned on. It started vibrating, a gentle hum against his insides that sent sparks through his body. He lurched forward, but when he moved back against the intrusion, he found Ben’s strong hand on the small of his back. “Down,” Ben ordered.

Poe went back down and Ben stroked his fingers through his slave’s hair. “Good boy,” he said in a voice that was so low and full of lust that Poe thought he was going to come on the spot like some kind of overzealous little boy. He gasped and rolled his hips.

“Can’t handle it?” Ben asked, slapping his thigh.

Poe whimpered in response, pretty sure that his master did not want an audible response. There was movement above him, and Ren snapped his fingers. The vibration kicked up a notch, arousal springing to life inside of him.

“Oh my…,” Poe whispered, grinding into the bed. “Please?”

It seemed that Ben was playing him like some sort of musical instrument. He jutted forward, feeling so close without a hand on him. Ben drove him to the brink then stopped. 

“I need more.”

“Not yet…”

It was like that for several cycles, Ben cycling the level of vibration until he was panting, trying hard to thrust against the bed, even with the strong body pushing him down.

“Ben, please.”

His owner turned him around, which made the humming inside of him even worse. He tried to get up, only to have a big body pressing against his, sliding hands down his chest to between his legs. 

Ben stroked him lightly, calloused hands scraping over sensitive skin. It was enough, though.

When Poe felt like he was going to fall over the edge, Ben stopped again.

“Ask permission.”

Poe groaned, head falling back against the softness of the bed.

“Please…” he whispered. “I need to come.”

“Not yet,” Ben growled. Then, he continued to stroke up and down, breaking the rhythm to distract him.

Poe was a panting, gasping mess by the end of it. His eyes had screwed up tight and his heart was throbbing against the cage of his chest. Tears sprung to his eyes and all he wanted to do was come, but it felt like the man in front of him was stopping it with his very essence.

“Please, please…” Poe whimpered, the words a twisted kind of mantra. He had never felt so torn apart and he needed to be put back together. “Oh, please…”

Poe groaned softly, leaning back. His heart was pounding and his head twisted. His vision blurred up for a brief moment.

“Fine, fine,” Kylo Ren consented, allowing it to happen.

And it just  _ happened.  _ Poe had never had an orgasm like that, where it seemed to come from somewhere beyond him. His hips rocked, his eyes closed and he honestly just screamed. He screamed so loudly, that he  was pretty sure the whole town heard him. 

When it passed, he was left on the bed panting and moaning, keenly aware of the thing still lodged deeply within him.

The man above him barely moved at first. He just watched him.

“I like seeing you fall apart,” he said finally. “That was amazing.”

Poe had to admit that it truly was. He opened his eyes when he felt like he could breathe again and looked at Ben. He tried to speak, but found that there was nothing left.

“It was.” 


	10. Chapter 10

The attack came out of nowhere. The bombs rocked the little shack where Poe Dameron had been living as the slave of Kylo Ren for four months. He let out a gasp of surprise. 

“For us?” Poe commented with a yawn, as he jolted out of his sleep.

His bed companion gave him a death glare and flung some clothes at him. “Go, get dressed,” he said. He, himself, was pulling on clothing. 

Blindly, Poe flung on some clothes and got up.

“Who are they?” he asked, voice raw from sleep. “

“I don't know,” Kylo growled. He ignited his lightsaber. “I need you to stay behind me, no matter what happens.”

A tiny spark of hope ignited inside of Poe. Maybe it was a rescue. He followed Kylo out of the little house and into the open air. He could smell smoke, fire and then he saw the source of the explosion.

It  _ was  _ a rescue.

His heart slammed against the inside of his chest. He saw Finn at the head of it, his eyes dark with something that he’d never really seen in them before. It was a rage, blindingly bright.

“We know you’re here!” the former stormtrooper called out, venom in his words. “We know you’re here Ren, and we will not leave until we have Poe back.”

“This isn’t my war anymore!” Kylo yelled, igniting the saber in front of Finn’s face. Finn pulled out something -- a lightsaber of his own? Where did that come from:? -- and the blades clashed against each other loudly, sparks flying. 

Poe felt frozen to the spot, watching them. While Finn grappled with Kylo, an arm around his shoulder yanked him back and behind the smouldering building. 

“Jessika.”

Jess Pava had been super young when she joined the Resistance, and she wasn’t much older now. In spite of this, age and exhaustion showed in her dark eyes. She just looked so tired.

“C’mon Dameron,” she said. “We’ll talk later. We’re taking you home.”

“Home.” Poe repeated the word, quietly. He wasn’t sure that such a place really existed. “Jess, you shouldn’t have come. The First Order…”

“Is a memory,” Jessika assured, hand on his arm. “Come on, let's get you to the ship.”

Poe shook his head. 

“I can’t go without him.”

The young pilot’s eyes widened in horror. “Without him?” she asked. “Poe, he’s been keeping you prisoner!” She took a step forward and grabbed him by the collar. “You’re wearing a kriffing collar, Dameron. Wake up and let’s go home. This is a rescue.”

“It’s not that easy, Jess…”

“Do not make me shoot you,” she said, training her blaster on Poe. “Finn had to fight tooth and nail to convince the people that you were worth saving. You are not going to throw away all of his effort on Kylo Ren.”

“It’s not like that,” Poe said, hands up. He was pretty sure Jess was going to shoot him, when something else hit him from behind, an electric bolt. He lunged forward and hit the ground, hard. 

When he looked up, he saw Finn, with the lightsaber in his one hand and a stunner in the other. He blacked out, eyes closing immediately.

His last thought, as he fell into darkness, was Ben.

He woke up in a bed, a blanket tucked up to his chest. Poe looked around, a frown on his face, and then tried to rise. A wafting draft reminded him that his neck, not bare for months, was now cold.

“Ben!” he yelled, rising.

“Poe, stop.”

Finn sat next to him. The young man looked so tired and distressed that it was hard to tell that he was so damned young. How long had it been since he’d last seen Finn? Probably about four months, although time had been a little blurry since he gave himself up.

“Finn,” he said. “You don’t understand.” 

“I don’t understand a lot of things,” Finn said firmly. “I don’t understand why I spent months working to get you out, Poe, only to have to stun you to bring you home.”

“I told them not to rescue me,” Poe said, referring to his crew, his people. “I told them that I had made this choice to get Ben away from the First Order, and I did it. He defected. We were living in peace, Finn.”

“I’m going to remind you right now,” Finn said tensely, “that I removed a collar from you last night.”

“I know how bad it seems,” Poe said, trying to be logical, sitting up in bed. His head was pounding, and he was sure the headache was from the stress of all that had occured. “I can’t really explain it, Finn. The dynamic made sense for me, though and it was working…”

“Did he hurt you?”

The question made his heart beat just a little faster. It was true that Ben had beat him a few times, so he could not honestly say no. 

He averted his gaze.

“Poe.” Finn spoke softly and put his hand on Poe’s shoulder. “I can’t pretend that I understand anything at all about what you’re going through, but I know that stuff like this happens to good people. I know that it’s very easy to get attached to a bad situation.”

“It wasn’t bad…”

“You’ll recover,” Finn assured, his words gentle and kind. “You’ll recover when you realize that it wasn’t normal, what you went through and you’re with friends right now.”

That much was true. He was among friends, friends who wouldn’t hurt him. He would be okay.

Poe tried to do what they told him. He let the medics and their droids take care of him. He talked to his friends and took the help that they offered. Yet, even as he did all of these things, his heart felt like a chunk of it had been ripped out.

He felt empty inside and that emptiness scared him.

It was Rey who figured out how empty he was. He was outside, with BB-8, when the former scavenger approached him. Her eyes were dark with concern, and something akin to understanding.

“You want him back,” she said, the words soft and not nearly as judgemental as they sounded coming from others. He appreciated that, the softness, the concern. “You want to be with Ben again.”

“I know it’s wrong,” Poe said, defensive, even though he felt safer around her than any of the others. “I know that what he’s done to me isn’t okay, and that I shouldn’t love him.”

“You shouldn’t,” she agreed. “You shouldn’t love him and yet you do.”

“I do.”

“I can’t judge you,” she said. “I saw the potential for good in him, but it was mingled with such hate, such horror…” 

“I want to be with him,” Poe said. “I can’t help it, but I do.”

“I will try to help you.”


	11. Chapter 11

As the time passed, all Poe could think about was Ben. He couldn’t imagine how Ben was doing. The rebels that had rescued him had not taken him, at least, because Ben was a war criminal and had crimes to answer to. 

Rey was trying to reach out to him. As much as she seemed hesitant to do so, the young Jedi was trying to exploit the bond she had with Ben to get a hold on him, to tell him that Poe needed him. 

They sat together in the forest outside of the Rebel base. Rey had explained, quietly, that she was able to focus better when she was closer to nature, to the real ebb and flow of The Force. 

“Ben,” Rey called, closing her eyes. Poe sat across from her, feeling exhausted. “Ben, I know you’re closing yourself off. Open up.”

Poe didn’t have Rey’s control of The Force, but he found himself closing his eyes, meditating and outright praying too. He wasn’t okay without Ben and it didn’t matter anymore how utterly fucked up their whole relationship was. It was just worth it. 

Rey’s eyes opened and Poe knew that she could see Ben, even if the image of his beloved was lost on him. “Finally,” Rey whispered, with relieve. “Ben, can you see me?”

Ben seemed to have acknowledged her, because Rey’s face softened. “Do you see him?” she asked, quietly. “Well, he’s right here with me… Yes, he’s okay. He wants you more than I think even he knows how to express.”

Another moment’s pause.

“You did some terrible things to him, but he loves you.”

Poe closed his eyes and tried to imagine Ben’s side of the conversation. He wasn’t even sure what he was hearing was real, or a figment of his imagination, but he heard Ben’s voice, soft, dancing on the wind.

“I’m sure he hates me. I kept him as a slave. He’s safe and free now…”

“He’s safe and maybe a little more free,” Rey agreed, her eyes falling on Poe, “but I can see in him that he’s miserable. Darkness has overtaken his energy.”

“What do you want me to do about it?”

Poe was starting to doubt that he was just making things up. There was such violence and anger in Ben’s voice that it seemed more realistic than anything. The man was hurting, deeply.

“I want to help him return to you,” Rey said. “I know that he’s not happy… and that he needs you. You need him. It’s a sort of balance.”

“Balancing out The Force, Rey?” Ben asked, his words soft and delicate.

“Trying to,” Rey murmured. “It’s not quite The Fore, though. It’s part of it, but it’s something else.”

“Something else.” Ben’s words were so cold, so full of skepticism. Poe’s eyes watered.

“You love him,” she said firmly. “No matter what horrible things you’ve done, I can feel that love inside of you. I feel that love in him too, so strong I can hardly breathe.”

“I do love him.”

Poe heard those words and he didn’t have to doubt that they were really Ben’s. The intensity in them made his heart leap into his throat. He longed for Ben, more than he could possibly imagine. He just needed his lover there. 

“We need a neutral place.”

“What are you planning to do, Rey?” Kylo asked, the words coming out so soft that Poe barely heard him. “Return your friend back to the man who has enslaved him?

“Yes.”

“Why?”

“Because I truly believe that it’s the right thing to do,” Rey said, her words open, honest in a way that he could not even begin to fathom. “I don’t know what else that I can do.”

“You don’t have to do anything,” Ben said, and honestly, Poe agreed. Rey would do much better for herself to just avoid him, avoid Ben and all of their troubles. “You shouldn’t…”

“When have I ever done what I was supposed to?” he asked softly. “I want to make things right. They really aren’t right, not right now.”

So, the plan was made. They found a place, a moon that was far enough to keep the Resistance off of their tail, but close enough for Rey to get Poe to. 

“What’s going to happen when we get there?” Rey asked Poe. The question surprised him, because she was the one arranging this whole escape attempt.

**“What do you mean?”**

“I mean, what do you want to happen?”

Rey’s words made Poe frown. He couldn’t help it. He had no idea what the answer was to her inquiry. He looked at Rey for a long moment and the panic started to set in when he realized that he couldn’t give her a good answer. 

“I don’t know,” he said softly. “I want Ben.” 

“In what capacity?” Rey asked. “He made you a slave, Poe. Are you going to allow him to stick another collar on you? What is the next step?”

“What if there is no next step?” Poe asked. He didn’t know what he was going to do, and in a way, he was okay with that. “What if all I want is to get home to Ben?” 

Rey looked at him and frowned. 

“I guess that will have to be enough,” she whispered. “For right now, it will be enough.”


	12. Chapter 12

The moon was not inhabited, but Poe could feel Ben. “He’s already there, isn't he?” he asked Rey, who was better with these sorts of things than he was. She knew the Force. She could literally feel Ben with something a bit more powerful than love. She was more capable than he could ever dream of being.

“Yes, he is.” They were still hovering over the moon. “He has a very unique… I don’t even know the word… aura, maybe.” 

“Is it bad that I still don’t know what’s about to happen?” Poe asked.

Rey looked at him and seemed unsure of what her answer would be. Finally, she looked away and sighed under her breath. “I don’t think it’s good, or healthy,” she said. “You know that I don’t approve of this.” 

“I am more than aware.” 

They touched down and Poe felt his stomach doing uncomfortable flip flops. He was going to be with Ben, but there was such a sense of unease. 

They initiated the landing gear and the ramp. Not more than thirty yards away from them was another ship, a single pilot vessel that he identified immediately as Ben’s. 

Rey opened the door and ascended the ramp in front of him. He knew that she was nervous. He knew that the young woman had absolutely no idea what she was doing. 

“Ben?” she called out.

Ben came out of his ship then. He was wearing the same clothes that he had pulled on the night that the rebels had attacked them. He looked as though he had not slept in an equal number of nights.

Their eyes met and Poe was certain that Ben was about to start sobbing. Instead, however, Ben just walked past Rey and threw both arms around him. Poe was, in that moment, reminded of how much shorter he was than Ben. Ben was big and tall, his body warm as it enveloped Poe. 

“Let’s get onto one of the ships,” Rey said immediately. 

They sat on Ben’s ship, the same one that Ben had taken him to. “What now?” Rey asked, looking from one man to another. Poe understood the look of discomfort that he saw on her face.

The truth was that this wasn’t a comfortable ending to a story. This wasn’t the bad guy winning, nor was it the good guy winning. Poe did not think that those categories actually existed in his life anymore. 

“I just want to be free,” Poe said. “I wanted to keep fighting, Rey, but the war is over…”

“Ben, the way you...treated him…”

“I know.”

“It’s not mine to determine if things change, is it?” she asked quietly.

“No, it’s not.”

“It’s not,” Poe agreed, although his words were spoken as kindly as he could muster. Rey had taken him home, to the place that he belonged. “Thank you, Rey. You...you made things right.”

“Well,” she said quietly. “The world needed a return to something normal, something the way that things are supposed to be. The world needs this.”

“It does.”

A small smile graced her face. “I must go,” she said finally. “May the Force Be With You.”

Her words left Poe looking at Ben. Ben, who was a monster and a master, but terrified and needy. It was...all too much. He hugged Ben close to him, nearly sobbing as Rey exited the ship.

The Force was indeed with them, and had brought them to this.   


End file.
